Kings of Yesterday
by faded harmony
Summary: We are all kings, but these kings rule in the past. It's just like yesterday... Collection of drabbles. Past/pre-hero-centric. Last posted: Imagination; Leo has always had a creative spirit, but there's always a challenge in his way he can't seem to get past. So instead he has another clever way no one has ever thought of before.
1. Naptime

**Someone on tumblr posted something about wondering where Percy preferred to sleep if he got tired [maybe his Achilles curse is acting up who knows] so I took that into my own mind and spewed out a drabble.**

**May or not continue this, I just need a prompt. Notice it says "KINGS" so that implies more than one person so submit a prompt and a person and I'll make a short drabble. But if you just do a prompt and no character that will just resolve in a Percy-centric drabble.  
Short note: All these are going to take place mostly before the series. I like the past. It's more interesting. **

**First up: Naptime ~ Percy takes a lot of naps. Whether it's homework or fighting or Achilles' curse, or maybe a crazy goddess with a plan to save the world, he's always asleep and Annabeth gets to watch. **

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO/ HoO/ etc. **

* * *

**Naptime**

* * *

Percy's favorite place to sleep was literally everywhere.

Okay, maybe she was exaggerating it, but every time Annabeth happened to glance back at her boyfriend-of-less-than-a-month he was always asleep. Maybe it was the Achilles thing or he was just being an average teenage guy... and not the greatest hero who saved the world less than a month ago and was still recovering from it.

Annabeth had first realized this when they had been spending time together in a small cafe in the city and had received their first scare since the Titan war. Annabeth had been walking down the street and being completely oblivious to the fact she was being stalked until she ran into Percy, who pushed her out of the way and was nearly speared in the head by a monster's tail.

She had screamed and startled several pedestrians, but the tail bounced harmlessly off Percy's head and he had his sword out and was already engaged in battle.

It [the battle of monster vs. Percy] didn't last long, but it was just enough to create an overprotective boyfriend for the rest of their meeting. He refused to leave her side, ducked into a small cafe and ordered a hot chocolate and a blue donut. He actually bought two, but said he was saving the other for Blackjack so his ride would pick him up. She smiled at the thought of this, Percy riding off on his pegasus, meanwhile Blackjack would have a donut speared in his tongue and licking it the entire ride.

She had been using Daedelus' laptop and peering over her plans and continuing to work when Annabeth glanced over to see Percy's head on the table. His head was on one side and his eyes were closed and fast asleep. His Achilles heel was kicking in again- this time just a small nap.

* * *

This time he was sleeping on his table at dinner, almost into his food and his tongue hanging out like a dehydrated puppy. She held back a snicker and the urge to walk over and wake him up.

* * *

He seemed to prefer sleeping in her cabin bunk. While she sat at her desk and worked, he would play with things in his hands or run his pen around his fingers like a baton until he got bored and fell asleep again. He was always sleeping.

* * *

"You have to sleep," Percy whined at Annabeth. "It's Thanksgiving! Put that stuff down!"

Annabeth sent a killer-glare over her papers. "I can't. If I ever want to get these plans done I have to..."

She barely finished the sentence when her head rolled forward and she was asleep. Percy tried to figure out why sound stopped coming out of her voice box and noticed her eyes were closed and she was snoring ever so quietly. He slipped out of the room and whistled innocently as he walked out of her cabin and went to go eat dinner at Camp [and then preferably his mother's house where she had stuffed turkey and mashed 'taters.]

* * *

"A short time to rest," Hera murmured, her semi-visible hands reaching down to scoop up the oblivious hero. "It's just a quick nap."

His head rolled as he was carried up and then vanished without stirring the blankets. A small glob of drool trickled from his mouth.

Eight months later he would wake from his '_short nap_' and begin to wonder where he was, who he was, and what he had been doing yesterday.

He had yet to discover if you could have dreams in your naps...


	2. Candy

**So as requested by ~****ShimmeringDaisyFace**** I have a Reyna one! :D I was kinda craving candy when I wrote this, sorry :P (Not really.)**

Warning: Mentions Jason/Reyna and very VERY SLIGHT Percy/Reyna and then eventually Leo/Reyna. Yuueeaaaayy~

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns them duh C:**

**I'll have the Leo one up for ~****TheeSun**** next :D Hang on a moment while I attempt to find my inspiration xD (most likely to come from the depths of hell and beyond woohoo)**

* * *

**Candy**

* * *

Reyna was never quite sure why she liked it so much.

Maybe it was what started her whole sweet-tooth addiction. At Circe's spa, it had only been a few sweets every now and then. She liked the really sweet rainbow-puke inducing ones. The ones covered in sugar, and the others coated in a sugary glaze she would lick off when she had them.

Her sister informed her she had a problem when the minute they were free from the spa and the pirates she had asked for candy. "I like it," Reyna said honestly. "It's sweet." Her sister still refused to let her step into the candy store and ask for a sugar cane. So unfair.

* * *

Jason dropped the bag of sweets next to her bunk, his feet barely touching the floor. He had just learned how to drop from an eagle, and discovered the fact he could fly all in one day. He couldn't wait to share this with his friend.

"What do you _think_ you are doing?" So close. He turned around slowly like that would be able to make him seem innocent but that apparently didn't help him much.

Reyna had been training and was holding her sword in one hand and her towel from using the bath house. Jason wasn't sure which was more intimidating; the sword, the towel she looked about ready to use as a whip, or the scary look on her face.

"I um..." Jason groped around for the bag. "I uh...got you something." He took the bag out from behind him and held it out in front of him as exchange for peace. Or a shield of which to bring her fury on and not him.

Her furious expression melted and grabbed the bag. "Thank you!" And hugged him quickly. Then her smile returned - the one he liked to see on her - and then she was shoving him out the door. "Now get out."

He couldn't wipe the smile off his face for the rest of the day; which made some happy and alarmed others. Dakota was the most alarmed, and asked if someone had drawn a mustache graffiti on his face again. Jason smiled at him and walked away.

* * *

Her pegasus was named after Peanut butter. The cyclops brother that her 'partner' had brought with him had been furiously delighted to meet the horse, who was then spooked and tried to fly away. He bucked and she fought to keep control of him. It still couldn't remove the smile she had on her face.

Tyson looked at her with giant eyes. "Your horse no like me," he said sadly.

Reyna was unsure what to say, her expression still engaged on the battle before her; the giant of the earth versus the Greek hero and all his bravery. She admired his strength, and he was kind and sweet - kind of like the obnoxiously sugary candy she loved so much - and reminded her of Jason so much it hurt.

* * *

She nibbled on a jellybean. Percy had taken all her blue ones [she'd get him for that one later, she liked those] and arranged them all in a circle on her desk by color. Granted, he had been too bored to do paperwork, which she was too, but he had found her candy stash and took anything sugary and blue from it. Oh, she was going to kill him. Or worse. She looked back at a purple jelly bean and popped it in her mouth. Right after she had a few more of these.

* * *

She turned bitter when she saw he had moved on. She was alone.

* * *

Reyna rolled the piece of chocolate over and over in her fingers. Is this what normal girls did when they expressed heartbreak or loss of a crush/friend? Gorge themselves in sugary sweets and ice cream?

She couldn't bring herself to eat it. She wouldn't sink that low. She placed it back in the box.

* * *

She came back at around one in the morning and stuffed it in her mouth and walked away. The bitter chocolate left a sour taste in her mouth.

* * *

She looked disdainfully at the Greek recruit in front of her. Now that the camps had to work together, they needed a builder to _literally_ build a _literal_ bridge between them. Leo Valdez, he said his name was. He was grinning like he had won the lottery and winking at her every few moments to gain her attention. Annabeth had said he was the best for the job, and as much as Reyna respected the other girl's judgement she was starting to have her doubts.

It wasn't until he got her a bag of candy- _dulces regaliz _he called them; sweet and strong like you- and a wink when she finally started to accept him. Reyna figured she could use some more sweet things in her life.


	3. Imagination

**As requested by ~****TheeSun ****I have a Leo prompt! :D The prompt was :Imagination: which I tried my best to make it more than a normal prompt. I kinda went free on this one and expanded the limits of what "imagination" could have meant.  
Disclaimer: Rick Riordan (duh he made the fandom)**

**1- Imagination can mean simply things you mean in your mind or ideas. So the first part is about his visions and the second is the actual idea part of imagination and the last is Piper being her usual Piper self and challenging Leo C; Enjoy! **

* * *

**Imagination**

* * *

Leo was seeing her face everywhere now.

It didn't matter no matter how times he was placed in orphanages and foster homes. She appeared to him at the store, the foster parents themselves, and in his dreams. No matter how fast he ran he couldn't outrun her. It was just a figment of his imagination. Or at least he tried to convince himself it was.

He blamed himself for everything. Her death, the fire, the fear that had evaded his mind and taken control of him... he had never been more afraid of anything in his life. And now this happened.

Leo saw her when his foster mom had been taking him shopping. She had been shopping for shoes- because this family seemed to have limitless supply of money and felt the need to buy anything and everything. Except they never bought anything for him besides food and the money they paid to buy a cheap little bunk bed he shared with a teenage guy who sat on his phone and played violent video games all day.

Leo had been just walking out when he saw someone with dark hair and...suddenly he was running. His arms were supposed to be carrying the bags his foster mother had bought but now they were wide open and trying to catch the person he loved so much. He -

"Leo Valdez!" His foster mom had grabbed his shoulder and yanked him away. He fought her, crying "_Mama! Yo estoy aqui! _ I am here! It's Leo! _Mama_!"

She spun him around and started scolding him loudly how he had to 'stay with her at all times, he was their adopted foster care child' blah blah blah... Leo kept glancing back for the woman who looked so much like his mother, but she had vanished in the crowd.  
His foster mom made him hold her hand as they walked back to the car, her fuming and him already set on escaping that night.

* * *

He had his backpack zipped up, all his favorite comics and a few action figures that he had gotten for Christmas from the foster house before this. Wrapped in a blanket was the framed photo of his mother before Leo had been born- he had salvaged that from the workshop fire and he would never let it leave. The photo was the last thing he had of her.

His jacket was zipped and tied and he was ready to go. He snuck down the ladder in the bed (the other boy who was the same age as Leo had claimed the bunk and claimed he was afraid of heights. So was Leo, but he would never say anything.  
He propped open the window using a collection of rulers all taped together to create a decent prop. When it was wide enough, he crawled through the opening and onto the roof.

Leo was almost free- when he heard he snore and the snort of his buddy in the other bunk. "Leo?" He called out, generally frightened. Apparently he had nightmares in his sleep to which Leo had no sympathy for; he was already living his nightmares.

He made no noise of response as he shimmied down the tiles on the roof. This wasn't the first time he did this, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Glancing up, Leo saw the many stars hovering above him. He could almost see a cluster that looked like the body of a centaur or the things from mythology his mom used to tell him before he went to bed.  
_Stop moping for yourself_, Leo, he said in his head. _Nobody cares about you. Nobody is gonna read bedtime stories to you ever again or tuck you in..._  
"I'm okay with that," he said aloud. "Because I'm Speedy Valdez, and ain't no one ever gonna catch me."

* * *

Leo's attention wavered throughout the English lesson. He managed to draw a small scale version of a ship, and maybe a prototype system of how it would run. Lots of wires, a syncopated...

"Valdez!" The teacher was somehow next to him and slapped a ruler across his desk. He jumped at the sudden noise and looked up innocently at the teacher.  
The teacher ripped the paper out of his hands. "Next time you feel the need to use your imagination," she growled. "You can go to art class!"

Several kids snickered nearby, but Leo's eyes were set for the paper the teacher had stolen from him. Instead of accepting "_Yes, okay, of course, ma'am_," he asked "When can I get that back?"

This only seemed to infuriate the teacher even more. She held the paper up in both hands and violently pulled it, ripping the entire drawing in half.  
Leo gave a cry of loss for his picture. The teacher crumpled it up and tossed it in the garbage, crushing the little flame of hope Leo had held onto since the beginning of class.

He stood up, and ignored the looks of the kids all around him. He picked up his backpack and slung the straps over his shoulders and walked out the row.  
The teacher watched him with her evil-determined eyes. "Where do you think you are going, mister?"

Leo shrugged as he stopped and turned to look at her. "Depends. I might go visit the Salvation Army parish up the road, or I'll hitch a ride on a bus to Dallas."  
The anger in the teacher's expression started to shrink. "What about your home?"

Leo smiled and started walking out the door, all the gaping faces and the fact no one even tried to stop him. "What home? I haven't had a home in almost four years, _ma'am_, and I'm gonna go take my bus to Dallas now." He opened the door and walked out, slamming it shut behind him.

He laughed bitterly as no one ran out to chase him, and ten minutes later he was sitting at the bus stop and hopped on the bus and rode out his feeling of freedom and loneliness the entire ride.

* * *

Leo blinked a few times at the enigma in front of him. Piper, she said her name was. She was pretty- but in a more natural way, not like the prosthetic faces he saw all over the campus. Currently she was licking the straw of her mango smoothie and giving him a look like she was challenging him to make a move.

He swallowed and sat in the desk next to her instead, and was momentarily pleased to see the questioning look pass over her face before it went back to a teasing grin that he was the one usually wearing.

"I'm Leo," he said, stretching and dropping his bag on the floor to symbolize he wasn't moving his spot. "I'm assuming your name is Piper."  
She dipped the straw back in and the dangerous smirk crossed her face again. "So I have only been in one detention and so far I have one stalker. New record."

Leo looked at her. "You're one tough cookie, _chica_, but don't worry, I'll get through to you eventually." He puffed out his chest. "I am the incredible Valdez!"

She laughed in his face. "Sorry lover boy, it will take a lot more than that to impress me." She took a long sip from her smoothie.

Leo slumped back with his arms crossed and a pouty expression on his face. Then he bounced right back. "How about a dare? If I can get to be your best friend by the end of this month, you owe me a smoothie." He rubbed his chin. "If I lose, you have every bragging right to say otherwise." He held out his pinkie finger, and a small smile crossed his face. "Pinkie promise?"  
She looked at his hand and Leo was surprised for the hundredth time today about this girl. "Sure," she sipped more smoothie.

Leo laid his hands out. "Now how do I impress you?"  
She smiled even wider at that, the dangerous gleam in her eyes returning. "Use your imagination."


End file.
